Air conditioners are great for keeping homes and businesses cool during hot summer days. They’re also great at making us tired and uncomfortable when they’re left running all the time. Unfortunately, both of these things happen a lot in modern-day homes because we just don’t spend enough time outside anymore. That means that our AC units need to run more often than they used to. When your air conditioner is working 24/7, dirt, dust, and other small particles can get into the system faster than they can be cleaned out again. This eats away at your cooling ability over time as it causes your coils to become dirty sooner than they would otherwise have been. The good news is that cleaning your AC coils isn’t particularly difficult, and there are a few different tricks you can use to speed up the process. We’ve outlined some helpful tips below so you can keep your air conditioning unit operating its best for as long as possible:

Start With A Detailed Inspection

One of the most important things you can do before starting your coil cleaning is to take a detailed look at your AC unit. This will help you discern whether or not your AC unit is dirty enough to be cleaned. If there are a few small bits of dust gathering around the vents, for example, there’s probably nothing serious going on. However, if you notice a lot more dust or debris inside your AC unit, it’s likely time to clean things up. This is especially true if your AC unit is old enough that it may have been dirty, to begin with. If you do notice that there’s a lot of debris inside your AC unit, you may want to consider replacing it with a newer model. These units are expected to last longer, so it may be time for a replacement, regardless of how old your current AC unit is.

Apply Some Dry Ice Before Cleaning

When you’re cleaning your AC coils, you want to make sure that they’re completely free of dirt, dust, and other particles. If there are any stray bits of dust lingering in the coils, they’ll eat away at your cooling ability after a few weeks. This is likely what happened to your AC unit in the first place. That means that you have to clean it as best you can to get it back to working normally. One way to clean your coils quickly is to apply some dry ice to the coils before cleaning them. Dry ice is an extremely cold form of carbon dioxide that’s often used as a food-temperature keeping agent. That means that you can use it to clean your AC unit’s coils to get them completely free of dust and debris. If you do this, be sure to clean off the ice before the cleaning process is complete so you don’t damage the coils in any way. You can find dry ice in many grocery stores and some general stores. Alternatively, you can order it online. Either way, you can use this as a quick way to clean your coils. Doing so will get rid of any dust and debris that may have been lurking in your coils and restore your AC unit’s cooling capability.

Use A Mix Of Furnace And Air Conditioner Scrubbing Tools

AC cleaning solutions can range from cheap to expensive, and there’s no way to tell which one is better until you try them both out. That means you should start small and try out a few different products. One of the more common and inexpensive options is to mix up some laundry detergent with water. Using this as a scrubbing solution will help you clean the coils of your AC unit effectively. You can also try adding a bit of baking soda to the mix, which is commonly used as a mild deodorizer. You can use a mix of detergent and water as a scrubbing solution if you’re also using furnace cleaning products. Furnace cleaners are going to be more aggressive than AC cleaning products and will be able to get into the nooks and crannies of your AC unit more easily than the scrubbing solutions will.

Clean With A Prohibited Substance

Depending on what type of AC unit you have, you may be able to add a prohibited substance to the cleaning solution to speed things up even more. This is often the case with duct cleaning solutions, which can contain things like hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide to dissolve stubborn build-up. As long as you use a substance that’s legal for cleaning ducts, you shouldn’t have any issues using this method. When you clean your AC unit with this substance, you can expect it to take about half the time that it would normally. That’s because the substance you use to clean the ducts will stop the AC from cooling the house down. This can help reduce the amount of time it takes your unit to cool your home down, allowing you to keep your AC running longer.

Polish With A Dry Microfiber Towel And More

When you’re done cleaning your coils, you want to make sure that they’re completely free of dust, debris, and other particles. You can do this by polishing the coils with a dry microfiber towel. This will get rid of any dust and debris that may be on the coils and restore their smooth finish. You can polish your coils with a dry microfiber towel if you’re doing a particularly thorough cleaning. However, most people will only need to polish them lightly to make sure that they’re completely free of dust and debris. Cleaning your coils lightly will only take a few minutes, and it will ensure that your AC unit is as clean as possible for as long as possible.

Conclusion

Air conditioners are great for keeping your home or business cool during the hot summer months. However, they do need to be cleaned from time to time to maintain their cooling efficiency. Cleaning your air conditioning coils properly can be difficult, but it can be done. Follow these tips to clean your coils as effectively as possible.